Toolbox: Lifting Walls Safely

Twenty-seven years ago, when I was
working with a framing crew in South
Denver, we would frame walls on the
subfloor. Then, to save time, we sheathed
them while they still lay on the deck;
installed the windows, exterior trim, and
siding; applied the soffit "ladder"; and
nailed the soffit plywood in place. With
all this material, these walls were heavy.
So, to lift them into place, we used
Proctor Wall Jacks (Proctor Products Co.,
210 8th St. South, Kirkland, WA 98083;
206/822-9296).
I recently had an opportunity to try
Proctor Wall Jacks again with my crew.
We used two 16-foot jacks — each rated
at 1,000 pounds — to raise walls and lift
beams into place.